A GUARANTEE OF HEAVEN -

HOW TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN

SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO PONDER

If something is true, you want to know the truth, don't you? Doesn't it make sense to honestly seek truth? I suggest that the following prayer is a legitimate approach to this inquiry. "Dear God, IF the Bible is true, and IF Jesus Christ really is the Savior of the world, and IF there is a way for me to obtain spiritual life, THEN, dear God, you have to show me that it is true. Will you please open and illumine my mind and heart to understand the gospel?"

Hey, what do you have to lose? If the Gospel is true, then you most certainly want to know the truth. If it really is true that a person goes to hell if he dies without ever having received Jesus Christ as Savior, then you certainly want to choose the way that will save you from perishing, right? If there truly is a way to get to heaven, then you want to choose to go that way, don't you? If God is real and alive and if God has made a way for you to be a member of the family of God, don't you want to join God's family? If God is who He says He is, why not put Him to the test? Why not open your mind to honestly consider the Gospel of Jesus Christ? If it is true, then certainly God is powerful enough to prove Himself to you and show you what and how to believe. Wouldn't you agree with that?

Listen, if the Gospel is not true, then you will be no worse off for having honestly considered what the Bible has to say about Jesus Christ, heaven, hell, and how to be saved. On the other hand, if the Gospel is true, then you most definitely want to know that truth and you need to act upon it.

THE GOSPEL, THE GOOD NEWS

OF JESUS CHRIST.

Simply stated the Gospel is that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture, and He was buried, and He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Opening one's heart to receive Jesus Christ begins with a CHOICE. If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you shall be saved. You have the absolute promise that whoever will call upon the name of the name of Lord will be saved (Romans 10:9, 13).

Let me explain in more detail. We start with God himself. God is so much greater than any human can comprehend, the only way we can know God or know about God is to read and consider what God Himself revealed in the Bible, the inspired word of God. God is perfect, holy, and just. God has infinite love while at the same time demanding total and perfect justice. God created the world and all of the universe. God created all living creatures. God created human beings, male and female. At the time God created humans there was no sin in the world and those first humans were themselves sinless. God gave them work to do and he gave them the freedom of choice. God gave to them a very specific prohibition. Those first humans had a choice to either obey God or disobey God. When they chose to disobey God that was sin. Sin is any thought, attitude, word or action that is contrary to God's character, will, commands or instruction.

Because God is perfectly holy He cannot even look upon sin, and there can be no fellowship between the perfect and righteous God, on the one hand, and any person who bears the curse of sin, on the other hand. When our ancient forefather sinned, the immediate effects were separation from God, spiritual death and imminent physical death. The human race was left without spiritual life and the fellowship with God was severed. Because of such spiritual death of the parents, they had no spiritual life to pass on to their children. All people thereafter have been born spiritually dead. Once physical life ends the person remains spiritually dead and he or she is also physically dead. God's punishment for sin is death and eternal torment in hell. God's declared punishment is absolutely required by the just God unless that sin is paid for and covered according to God's revealed requirements.

The omniscient God provided that there must be a sufficient blood sacrifice to cover sins. Since God declared that the penalty for sin is death and that there will be no covering of sins without the shedding of blood, then in order to pay for and cover sins there would need to be an object of sacrifice to receive such death penalty and to shed its blood. Such object of sacrifice would need to be totally sinless and perfect in order to provide the payment of the death penalty and such blood covering for sins of OTHERS. Without such sinless perfection the object of the sacrifice would be paying the death penalty and shedding its blood for its own sin, which would automatically mean that such sacrifice could not be made to pay the death penalty for the sins of others.

This left the human race with a terrible predicament. Because all people have sinned and come short of God's glory, all people were already spiritually dead and they were headed for physical death. Moreover there was no human being who was ever born who could serve as the sufficient sacrifice to pay the death penalty for the sins of anyone else. All humans were therefore separated from God and there was absolutely nothing by way of human effort that any person could do in order to receive spiritual life or to avoid the death penalty for sin. Human efforts through goodness, kindness, beauty, strength, education, intelligence, power, position, philosophy or science could not and cannot achieve spiritual life or remove the death penalty for sin. God would never diminish His character of perfect holiness and righteous by allowing a person with sin to even be present in His heaven. Furthermore God's perfect righteousness and justice could never allow any sin to go unpunished.

Allow me to paint a word picture to emphasize the magnitude of God's love in giving Jesus Christ to die in full satisfaction of the death penalty for sin and to provide the blood covering for sins. The following illustration also helps to show how low God the Son stooped in order that we might understand God and that we might have a way to obtain spiritual life.

Think of your own kitchen table. Of course your table has no life. It cannot hear, move, think or reason. Wouldn't it be ridiculous for you to go up to your table and command your table to walk and then for you to proceed to explain with all diligence and eloquence the techniques of how to walk. Will the table understand how to walk? Or will the table do what you tell the table to do in order to walk? Of course not. This is because the table does not have life and it has no capacity to understand human words, instructions or reasoning. Your lifeless kitchen table is so far below you in character, being, life, power, intelligence and reasoning that it would be hopeless and silly to attempt to somehow bring your ways, thoughts and instruction down to a level of that table. Furthermore, because the table has no life you never could expect the table to understand or respond as if it did have life.

The gap between humans and God Almighty is infinitely greater than the gap between you and your kitchen table. Your kitchen table has no physical life and there is nothing that your kitchen table can do to attain life. A person without Christ is spiritually dead and there is nothing that person can do by his or her own works to attain spiritual life. Even if you surmised that your table wanted to fully understand the mechanics and techniques of walking you certainly would not sit down next to your table and give comprehensive instructions to that effect because you already know that your table does not have the capacity to understand those things. We humans are finite beings. Our reasoning and intelligence have a finite limit. It is logically ridiculous to expect that the infinite and omniscient God would declare to humans all that can be known about God, His ways and His thoughts. God certainly knows the limits of our pea-brains and would not go through the meaningless activity of telling humans things that He already knows that humans do not have a capacity to comprehend.

The all-wise and all-knowing God determined His perfect standards, and He determined forever the penalty for sin. God decided exactly how much and what He would reveal to humans, which is what is contained in the Bible. Everything God revealed in the Bible is true regardless of whether humans can fully understand it due to limited brain power and capacity. In other words, many things about God, God's ways and God's thoughts remain a mystery to us because God chose not to reveal them or explain them. Even part of what God did reveal we find difficult to understand. That brings us to a CHOICE. Humans have to choose to believe God's Word, backed by the very character of God, or to choose to disbelieve it. The Christian has the capacity to understand the Bible because the Christian has spiritual life and the Christian has the Holy Spirit resident within him or her to illuminate and teach the meaning of God's word.

One of these mysteries that transcends human understanding is the declared fact of the triune God. It is true because God declared it to be true. However, the full grasp of the Trinity is beyond our capacity to understand. God is one. There are three persons in the Godhead - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ has always been God. He was God before that first Christmas in Bethlehem. He is God to this day. For approximately thirty-three years Jesus Christ voluntarily laid aside the full glory of being God by taking the form of a human. When Jesus Christ stooped to become the God-man His condescension was far greater than if a human being could somehow voluntarily give up his physical life, powers, abilities, intelligence and reasoning to take the form, lifelessness and powerlessness of that kitchen table.

This brings us back to the desperate need of the human race which was without spiritual life and without any sufficient sacrifice to pay the death penalty for sin. The perfection, righteousness and justice of God require that He obtain the punishment that He had declared for sin. None of the spiritually lifeless humans could provide payment of that penalty for anyone else. God's infinite love was displayed as God Himself chose to give Himself in full payment for the death penalty required by God Himself.

God the Father sent God the Son to be the Savior of the world. The method chosen by God is mysterious and wonderful. When God the Son took the form of humanity Jesus, in pre-birth human form was placed into the womb of a young virgin named Mary. That little baby had none of Mary's cells. As a virgin Mary had received none of Joseph's cells. That little Person in the womb of Mary was Jesus Christ in the form of a living unborn baby. Mary gave birth to Jesus as a human baby. Joseph and Mary raised Jesus as their son even though Jesus was not actually the biological child of either parent. Jesus grew up just like other children with one important distinction. Never did Jesus sin in any way. Jesus never sinned in his thoughts, words, attitudes or actions. While Jesus learned obedience, encountered temptations, pains and struggles, He remained without blemish. By the time Jesus was twelve years old the scholars, teachers and leaders were amazed at His understanding. Jesus grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon Him. He learned the trade of carpentry from His father and Jesus became a tradesman and businessman.

At the right time Jesus left the carpentry business to begin His ministry as a prophet, teacher and perfect example for humans. BUT that was not the ultimate purpose for which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had come to this world. The reason Jesus came was to shed his blood and to suffer death to pay the death penalty for the sins of the world. Jesus Christ was in fact the Messiah (i.e. the Christ) which God had promised to the Jews many, many years before. The Jews did not understand God's teaching in the written Word which they possessed (what is now the Old Testament of the Bible). The Jews were looking for a Messiah who would be a powerful king of a human government and who would release the Jews from the bondage of foreign governments. The Jews had ignored or could not understand what the Old Testament plainly taught about the Christ coming to suffer and die and thereby to save his people.

It was only a period of about three and one-half years from the time Jesus began his ministry with the selection of His disciples until the date of His awful death on the cross. During much of that time Jesus was extremely popular. More and more people flocked to Jesus as He performed many miracles and healed many people.

The Jewish leaders hated Jesus Christ because he declared his deity. They considered Jesus' statements of His equality with God to be blasphemy which was punishable by death. Even though the Jewish leaders could not deny that Jesus was performing miracles, such miracles did not lead them to believe in Jesus. Those Jewish leaders had hard and selfish hearts and they were filled with envy and a passion to kill Jesus Christ.

A small fraction of the activities and teachings of Jesus Christ during that three and one-half years is recorded in the New Testament of the Bible. Every account and record in the Bible is historically correct. Part of the recorded history of the God-man, Jesus Christ, is the record of the actual words of Jesus Himself. During His time on earth Jesus declared and acknowledged that He was the Messiah, the way, the truth, the life, the light of the world, the bread of life, the Son of God, the Son of Man, I AM, the great physician, the true vine, the shepherd, the resurrection and the life, and the exclusive way for anyone to come to God. Jesus declared that if anyone would see Jesus they would see God the Father and if anyone knew Jesus they would know God the Father also. Jesus warned clearly that anyone who does not believe in Jesus is already judged, shall never see life, and will perish with the wrath of God abiding on him. Jesus promised that whoever would believe in Jesus would have eternal life, and that there was absolutely no other way to obtain spiritual life than by believing in Jesus Christ.

Jesus told people that soon he would be arrested, mistreated, crucified and killed. He stated also that on the third day He would rise from the dead. Jesus declared that He was the bread of life, that no one could come to Christ unless God the Father would draw him, and that whoever would eat Jesus' flesh and drink Jesus' blood (speaking of faith in Christ and partaking of Christ's sacrificial death to save sinners) would have eternal life. Many considered these to be hard sayings. As Jesus taught these truths, and as He repeated the prophecy about His coming death and resurrection many people departed. Jesus explained that even His followers would suffer persecution, trials and hatred from others. Many more people departed. Finally there was left only a small band of disciples and followers. To this small group Jesus imparted special instructions and promises. Jesus promised that He was going to prepare a place in heaven so that people who believe in Jesus would be able to join Him there forever. Jesus promised that He would send the Holy Spirit as comforter, teacher and guide. Jesus also promised that in the future He would come again in power and majesty.

The hatred of the Jewish leaders grew while the support from the masses diminished. The Jewish leaders made their plot to kill Jesus. One of the disciples was an evil man who had fooled everyone except for Jesus. Jesus knew that Judas Iscariot was not a true believer and that Judas would betray Jesus. Judas entered into a conspiracy with the Jewish leaders to identify and arrest Jesus. That devilish plan was in the works while Jesus was meeting with His disciples for the Last Supper. After Judas left Jesus gave very special instruction to the disciples and led them in prayer. From there Jesus and the disciples went out to the garden.

As foretold by Jesus, Judas Iscariot arrived to carry out the betrayal. There was an army with Judas. Jesus could not have been captured if He had not voluntarily allowed it. Just before Jesus' arrest the mob said that they were looking for Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus demonstrated that He remained in total power and control of the events when He said, "I am He," and those very words from God the Son knocked to the ground that detachment of soldiers, along with the officials and Pharisees. Jesus instructed His own disciples not to fight. Jesus voluntarily submitted to the illegal arrest. All of the disciples fled and Jesus was led away to be mocked, spat upon, mistreated, ridiculed, and tortured. There were a series of illegal sham "trials." Even though the Roman authorities could find no guilt in Jesus, they bowed to the demands of the Jews that Jesus be crucified. Pontius Pilate approved the crucifixion of the One who was indeed the King of the Jews and Savior of mankind.

They stripped Jesus of His clothes, laid His body on a wooden cross, and drove spikes through His hands and feet. The Roman soldiers then raised Jesus on that cross. There at Calvary Jesus suffered the most painful and agonizing form of execution. The arrest, the mistreatment, the mocking, the crucifixion, and ultimately the death of Jesus Christ were all in fulfillment of prophesy that had been recorded hundreds of years previously. Those events were also exactly as Jesus has prophesied and promised. That pain, torment and death was actually the fulfillment of the purpose for Jesus coming to this world. Jesus would not do anything to avoid the coming punishment and death even though He was sinless, perfect, and there was no crime or sin for which He should be required to shed His blood or suffer death. Greater than the physical agony was the horror and pain of the punishment for all sins being laid upon Jesus and the separation from God the Father. On that cross God the Son shed His blood to be the covering for sins. Because Jesus had never sinned He did not need to pay that penalty or shed that blood for His own sins. Jesus Christ was therefore the perfect substitute to take the death penalty for sins in the place of others (including you).

Jesus voluntarily gave up His spirit. Jesus died. He was buried in a tomb. On the third day Jesus Christ arose from death just as He had promised. That was the first Easter. Jesus was alive. Jesus is alive today and seated at the right hand of God the Father. After Jesus rose from the dead He showed Himself to His disciples and followers. There were hundreds of people who saw Jesus Christ alive again. With so many witnesses there could be no believable denial that Jesus Christ has risen in victory over death. Jesus had completely fulfilled the will of God and the very purpose for His coming to earth.

Jesus had provided a way for people who were without spiritual life to obtain such spiritual life. By His death Jesus had fully paid the price for the sins of the world. By His death and resurrection Jesus Christ made the only way for people to be saved. By His death and resurrection Jesus established the exclusive and narrow way for people to come into fellowship with the perfect and righteous God Almighty. The work of Jesus Christ at Calvary was sufficient for God to credit perfect righteousness to the account of any person who believes in Jesus Christ. The death of Jesus Christ removed the barrier of sin between the Holy God and anyone who will place his or her faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus' sacrificial death was the payment in full of the price of sin whereby Jesus Christ purchased believers out of the slave market of sin. Jesus Christ's substitutionary death provided the means for spiritual life and a spiritual nature to every person who receives Jesus Christ. The sins of man were forgiven and covered. The justice of God was satisfied.

The resurrected Jesus Christ remained on earth for forty days after he was raised from the dead. Then Jesus Christ ascended up in the sky and out of sight as a crowd of witnesses watched in amazement. The people who saw that ascension were the band of people to whom Jesus Christ had committed His truth and the ministry to reach out to the entire world with the Good News that there is salvation and spiritual life available because of the completed work of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. Since that day Jesus Christ has been building His Church, which includes all true Christians down through the ages. Every person who has chosen to believe and trust in Jesus has been saved for eternity. Jesus Himself promised that whoever would believe in Jesus Christ would not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. True believers in Old Testament days looked forward to the coming Christ and were saved by placing their faith in Him. Since the resurrection of Jesus Christ there has still been only one way for a human being to obtain spiritual life. That exclusive way to escape the death penalty for sin is to receive Jesus Christ as Savior. The only way to have sins covered and forgiven is to appropriate that shed blood of Jesus Christ by placing your faith in Him.

QUESTION: How do I do that? You receive Jesus Christ by CHOOSING to accept the free gift of salvation He provides. You cannot work to earn it. You cannot be good enough to deserve it. Your kitchen table has no capacity to gain human life and enter into human fellowship with you. In the same vein there is nothing you can do on your own, using your ways, to reach Almighty God or to enter into His fellowship. By faith you must CHOOSE to follow the exclusive way declared and revealed by God. That way is Jesus Christ.

I will be as practical and as instructive as I can be. God will never lie. God chose to reveal His truth to us in the Bible. God has revealed to us the truth about Jesus Christ, including His reasons for coming to this world and His reasons for dying. God has revealed to us that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. Jesus did it all. Jesus paid it all. The CHOICE is simply whether you will believe and trust in Jesus Christ. Please read and study the Bible verses quoted below. I challenge you to put God to His Word. If this is true then surely God is great and loving enough to help you to understand. Then you must make your CHOICE. The invitation to accept Jesus Christ and thereby obtain spiritual life forever, cleansing from sin, and entrance into the family of God, is available for the taking. But God will not force you to make that CHOICE.

After you have studied the verses below, please think about the following important statements concerning your CHOICE. To all who receive Jesus Christ, i.e. to those who believe in the name of Jesus Christ, God gave the right to become children of God. No one can see the kingdom of God unless he or she is born again. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ shall not perish but have eternal life. Whoever rejects Jesus Christ will not see life, but God's wrath remains on him. If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. Now is the acceptable time to receive Jesus Christ. Behold, now is the day of salvation. You do not know what your life will be tomorrow. If you put off receiving Jesus Christ today, you may not have the chance tomorrow. If you die without receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior, you will be separated eternally from God – you will go to hell forever.

Will you CHOOSE to accept and receive Jesus Christ as your Savior?

When a person receives Jesus Christ it is the beginning of his or her spiritual life. Becoming a Christian is the beginning of a life of growing in the relationship with the Lord. The instant a person receives Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit takes up residence in him or her and for the first time in the life of that new believer, the Holy Spirit will be comforting, guiding, teaching and leading.

Before choosing to receive Jesus Christ you really do not need to know any more about Jesus Christ and how to become a Christian than what you have read above and what is quoted below from the Bible. Jesus is standing at the door of your heart and knocking. He has promised that if you will open up the door to your heart and life and receive Him in, then He will come in. You do not need to clean up your life or get your act together before receiving Jesus Christ. Without the Lord you do not even have the power to avoid sin. Jesus is calling you to come to Him just as you are and to enter into a new life with Him. I beg you, on behalf of God, to be reconciled to God Almighty by receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior. Will you receive the Lord right now, right where you are?

I am going to provide a simple prayer for you to use as a guide in receiving Jesus Christ. It all comes down to your CHOICE. You believe in Jesus by CHOOSING to believe in Jesus. You place your faith in Jesus Christ by CHOOSING to place your faith in Jesus Christ. I invite you to rely on God to help you, in the best way you know how, to pray a simple prayer like this from your heart to God.

Dear God, I CHOOSE to believe that the Bible is true in what it says about You and Your perfect justice and holiness. I CHOOSE to believe that everyone has sinned and fallen short of Your glory. I admit that I have sinned. I CHOOSE to believe that the punishment for sin is death. I realize that I have no spiritual life yet. I also know that I cannot save myself from the death penalty that I deserve for sin. I CHOOSE to believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus Christ stepped out of Heaven and took the form of man in order to be the perfect substitute to take upon Himself the death penalty for the sins of the world, including my sins. I believe that Jesus Christ was crucified and that He died. I believe that Jesus Christ was buried and that on the third day He arose from the dead. I believe that Jesus Christ is alive today as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, seated at the right hand of God the Father. I take You at Your Word, Lord, that when I now call upon Your name You will save me and cleanse me from my sins. Therefore, Lord Jesus, in the best way I know how, I invite You to come to me. I receive You, Lord Jesus, as my Savior. I give my life to You. Thank You for saving me. This I pray in Your Name, Lord. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer sincerely from your heart to God, you ARE SAVED ! I recommend that you go back and read the verses that I have quoted below which will remind you of the security you have and the spiritual life which you now enjoy. Study John 5:24; 6:35; 10:14; Ephesians 1:13; Philippians 4:19; 2 Timothy 1:12; 1 John 4:17 and 5:11-13. WELCOME TO THE FAMILY OF GOD !

If you prayed to receive Christ I recommend that you write down today's date as the day that you were born again. I urge you to immediately find a Bible-believing church where you can receive instruction, support and Christian fellowship. Tell some people that you are saved and how you prayed to receive Christ as your Savior.

Guess what !? If you just received Jesus Christ, then for the first time in your life you will have the capacity to more fully understand the Bible under the teaching and illumination of the Holy Spirit. Between now and when you step into Heaven, you have the opportunity to sit at the foot of the great Teacher Himself. God will unlock His mysteries to you that are hidden to unbelievers. [One of those beautiful areas of instruction that you will now be able to understand more clearly from the Bible is how to have a happy and God-honoring marriage, the subject of this book].

WARNING – If you CHOSE not to place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save you, then you are in great danger. Your heart can grow colder and colder to the things of God. You cannot assume you will have more chances before you die. You see, even if you CHOOSE not to believe it, God says that God Himself appoints the time you will die, and after that comes the judgment (Hebrews 9:27; Job 14:5).

So PLEASE stop. Reconsider. Now is the acceptable time to receive Jesus Christ. Please CHOOSE to do so now.

SALVATION THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST

Carefully read and consider the following quotations from the Holy Scriptures:

Psalms 14:1

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. [The atheist is a fool. 100% of people are sinners]

1 John 4:9 & 10

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. [Jesus is God's love-gift]

Luke 15:7 & 10 (Jesus speaking)

"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. . . . In the same way, I tell you there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." [Repent]

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. [100% of people are sinners]

Habakkuk 1:13a

Your [God's] eyes are too pure to look on evil; You [God] cannot tolerate wrong. [God's holy justice]

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. [God's penalty is spiritual death (hell)]

Ephesians 2:12, 13

Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. [Jesus is the bridge to God]

2 Corinthians 5:17-20

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come ! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Romans 5:6-10

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through Him ! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life !

Romans 6:10

The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. [Jesus died for your sins]

1 Peter 3:18

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit. [Jesus shed His blood for you]

1 Peter 2:21-25

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth." When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed. For you were like "sheep" going astray, but now you have returned to "the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

Hebrews 1:2-3

But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Luke 19:10 (Jesus speaking)

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." [You]

John 4:23 (Jesus speaking)

"That all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent Him."

Hebrews 7:25

Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them. [Come

James 4:8

Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinner, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [Come]

Luke 11:9, 10 (Jesus speaking)

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." [Come to Jesus and be saved]

John 1:1, 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. [Jesus is God]

John 3:16-18 (Jesus speaking)

"For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." [Avoid hell, and obtain eternal life, by faith in Jesus]

John 5:17-24

Jesus said to them. "My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working." For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him; not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God his own Father, making Himself equal with God. Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. Yes, to your amazement He will show him even greater things than these. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent Him. I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." [Jesus is God. You cannot honor God if you reject Jesus]

John 6:37 (Jesus speaking)

"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away." [Secure]

John 6:39-40 (Jesus speaking)

"And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. For My Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

John 8:12

When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." [Salvation is only through Jesus]

John 8:19

Then they asked Him, "Where is your father?" "You do not know Me or my Father," Jesus replied. "If you knew Me, you would know My Father also." [Jesus is God]

John 10:9 (Jesus speaking)

"I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture." [Salvation is only through Jesus]

John 10:25-33

Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in My Father's name speak for Me, but you do not believe because you are not My sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and the Father are one. Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?" "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." [Jesus open declared that He is God]

John 11:25-26

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" [Salvation]

John 12:44-45

Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in Me, he does not believe in Me only, but in the one who sent Me. When he looks at Me, he sees the One who sent Me." [Faith in Jesus]

John 12:46 (Jesus speaking)

"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness." [Salvation is through faith in Jesus]

John 13:1

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love.

John 14:6

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." [Jesus is the ONLY way]

John 16:22 (Jesus speaking)

"So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy."

John 17:11 (Jesus speaking)

"I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name - the name You gave Me - so that they may be one as we are one."

John 1:12

Yet to all who received him [Jesus], to those who believed in his [Jesus'] name, he gave the right to become children of God. [Saved]

John 3:18 (Jesus speaking)

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." [Faith in Jesus results in salvation. Rejection of Jesus results in hell]

John 3:36

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life [heaven], but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him [hell forever].

Galatians 2:16

Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. [By faith]

Galatians 3:22

But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. [By faith]

Galatians 3:26

You are all "sons of God" through faith in Christ Jesus. [By faith]

Ephesians 2:1, 4-9

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, . . . But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. [God's grace; your faith; you cannot earn heaven]

Romans 4:16

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring - not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

Romans 5:1-2

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into his grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. [By faith]

Romans 8:1

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [avoid God's punishment for your sin]

Romans 8:8

Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

Romans 8:34

Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Romans 10:8, 17

But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming, . . . Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. [Faith in Jesus]

Romans 10:9-13

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." [Call on Jesus]

II Corinthians 1:22

God who set His seal of ownership on us, and put His spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. [Secure]

Ephesians 1:13

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. [Secure]

Ephesians 4:30

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. [Secure]

Philippians 1:6

Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. [Secure]

Colossians 3:3

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. [New]

II Timothy 1:12

That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day. [Secure]

Hebrews 5:9

And, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.

Hebrews 7:25

Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them. [Secure]

I Peter 1:5, 9

Who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. . . for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

I Peter 3:18

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit. [Jesus' death for your sins]

Hebrews 9:27

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.

II Corinthians 6:2

For He says, "In an acceptable time I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. [Receive Jesus Christ NOW!]

Titus 1:2

A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.

Titus 3:4-7

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Hebrews 8:12

For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. [With salvation comes forgiveness and a "clean slate"]

1 John 4:9-10

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 John 4:13-17

By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

I John 5:10-13

Anyone who believes in the Son of God has His testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the son has life [saved]; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life [lost]. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

Revelation 3:20 (Jesus speaking)

"Here I am ! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

* * * * *

So there you have it directly from God Himself. You are a sinner. As God's punishment for your sin, God has already condemned you to hell forever, unless you will accept His free love-gift. Jesus is God the Son. The only way to have your sins forgiven, to gain spiritual life and eternal life, and to be in God's family, and to go to heaven, is to CHOOSE to place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Will you please receive Jesus Christ as your Savior now? It is heavenly!